Academic Competitions
UM Writing Competition
2023-2024 Theme: A Celebration of Identity
Teacher Workshop: October 18, 2023
Student Submissions Due: January 31, 2024
Awards Ceremony: February 29, 2024
Grades: 7th – 12th
The University of Mississippi Writing Competition is an annual teachers’ workshop and mail-in competition for the state of Mississippi and neighboring schools in the Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee areas.
The Writing Competition consists of multiple writing categories, all revolving around a central theme. The categories offered include:
- Essay (narrative or expository)
- Poetry
- Short Story
All projects listed above must adhere to the Writing Competition theme listed at the top of the page.
Sponsor: UM Writing Project, Office of Pre-College Programs, Division of Outreach and Continuing Education
Competition Type: Online/Mail-In Submission
The University of Mississippi Writing Competition Teachers Workshop provides educators with the opportunity to learn how to incorporate the competition and theme into their classroom. The workshop is not mandatory for teachers to attend in order for their students to compete.
Cost: $125
Location: Jackson Avenue Center, Oxford Campus
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (subject to change)
Entries will be judged on literary merit and usage/grammar appropriate to grade level. The work is not to be taken from or based upon any writing by any author famous or unknown, student or adult - or from any published or unpublished source such as a book, magazine, literary anthology, or the like. Judges will be teacher consultants from the University of Mississippi Writing Project.
Submissions will be judged for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in each writing category. Winning submissions will receive scholarship awards to summer programs, sponsored by the Office of Pre-College Programs, and will be published in the Office of Pre-College Programs’ Celebrations literary magazine. Honorary submissions may also be published in the literary magazine.
Competition Rules
- The competition is open to students currently enrolled in grades 7th-12th.
- Entries should consist of original pieces of writing:
- Poetry
- Short Stories
- Essays
- Acceptable format of entries:
- Typed using Microsoft Word or another word processor
- Double-spaced on one side of paper only. No double-sided printing.
- 12-point font, Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman
- Maximum word limit:
- 1,500 words for 7th-8th grades
- 3,000 words for 9th-12th grades
- All entries may be uploaded to our secure portal after registration. The registration form links to the secure portal.
- NO NAME should appear on the entry itself. Entries with names will be disqualified.
- Titles are required on the entry. Titles should be punctuated correctly. No underlining or quotation marks of titles on original work.
- Entries should be labeled as directed by the upload portal. Appropriate format for your file name is: Last Name_First Name_Grade_Genre. Ex: Landshark_Tony_10_Poetry.
Celebrations is an annual literary magazine featuring the first, second, and third place winners from the Celebration Writing Competition. You’ll find a mix of essays, poems, and short stories from middle and high school students, along with original student artwork.
Please enjoy these previous publications of Celebrations.
For additional information, please contact: